Abbas Kiarostami's Koker Trilogy

Nothing, it seems, is black-and-white in Iran, and the ambiguities launch out of the films like bottle rockets. For the newcomer, here's an to see Kiarostami's Koker Trilogy over three days: Where Is the Friend's House? (1987), As Life Goes On... (1991), and Through the Olive Trees (1994). Each subsequent film rises from the fictional essence of its predecessor, and yet tangles with an authentic rural Iranian universe; the trilogy constitutes a uniquely profound act of cinema. J. Hoberman calls the films "an exceptional suite of movies that refer both to Iran's devastating 1991 earthquake and to one another." (NR) MICHAEL ATKINSON